As is well known in the art, various problems and difficulties have been encountered in providing suitable sun shade devices for protecting infants when they are exposed to the sun, particularly when a baby or young child is placed in a seat designed for use in a motorized vehicle. While it has been thought that when an infant is seated in an infant seat in a vehicle that there was protection offered by the vehicle roof against sun impingement, the fact remains that sunlight passing through the vehicle windows or the vehicle sunroof can shine upon the child, causing skin damage or making the child uncomfortable from the intense light and heat. Since the infant is ordinarily secured in a reclining or near-reclining position, the rays of the sun that come in through the vehicle windows or sunroof will often fall directly upon the baby's face.
Numerous types of sun shades for infants have been proposed in the literature, and some have had commercial success. However, most are not adaptable for use in a vehicle, as they are designed for chairs, strollers, or infant carriers. It is also not practical to place a permanent shading device on an infant car seat because it limits the accessibility of the infant. Of those designed specifically for vehicles, most are visor, parasol or hood devices. Each of these have features that restrict their use, and they are generally complicated to operate or are limited in their ability to provide sunlight protection. Proof of this lies in the lack of commercial success and lack of availability of a suitable sun shade for an infant car seat. None of the prior art devices provide complete protection of the infant from the sun's rays, nor do they provide easy portability from car seat to car seat. Further, they generally require some modification of the car seat (drilling holes, attaching a bracket, fasteners or other securing means); they are generally designed to fit a specific brand or type of car seat; they must be used when the seat is in a particular orientation in the vehicle; and they are not generally usable when the car seat is removed from the vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,162 discloses a sun shade that has a bracket that allows adjustment of the canopy. However, the adjustment bracket must be bolted to the car seat, and does not provide easy removal, nor easy transfer to another car seat. Further, it only shields the occupant of the car seat from above, and not from the sides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,308 similarly only shields the occupant of the car seat from above, and not from the sides, and the attachment means functions by wedging between the infant car seat and the passenger vehicle seat. As such, it cannot be used outside of the vehicle. Clearly a need exists for an improved device.